Coalition for Media Advocacy Indignant at the Decision of the Georgian President’s Administration to Refuse to Accept Documents of the Candidate for a Vacant Position in the GPB Board of Trustees

30 Nov, 2011

28 November, 2011

On October 27, 2011, the President of Georgia announced a competition for a vacant position in the Board of Trustees of the Georgian Public Broadcasting (GPB), a Legal Entity of Public Law.  According to the same act, candidates were given 30 days to submit their applications.

The candicates were due to submit their applications today, on 28 November, 2011, however the President’s administration refused to accept the documents of David Kldiashvili, a candidate nominated by the coalition, saying that the deadline was yesterday, on November 27.

We think that the decision made by the President’s administration presents abuse of power and deliberately false interpreation of requirements of law.

In accordance with Georgian law On Normative Acts, days off and holidays established by Georgian legislation shall not be considering when counting time periods. According to Georgian legislation Saturday and Sunday are nonworking days. Therefore, if the deadline coinsides with a nonworking day, it shifts to the following working day.

Therefore, the deadline for submitting documents for a vacant position in the Board of Trustees is Monday, 28 November, 2011.  The coalition thinks that the Georgian President’s administration shall react to the above mentioned fact immediately and the President of Georgia shall consider the applications of all the candidates that submitted documents on November 28, 2011.